T1542.005 TFTP Boot
sub-techniqueEnterpriseAdversaries may abuse netbooting to load an unauthorized network device operating system from a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server. TFTP boot (netbooting) is commonly used by network administrators to load configuration-controlled network device images from a centralized management server. Netbooting is one option in the boot sequence and can be used to centralize, manage, and control device images. Adversaries may manipulate the configuration on the network device specifying use of a malicious TFTP server, which may be used in conjunction with Modify System Image to load a modified image on device startup or reset. The unauthorized image allows adversaries to modify device configuration, add malicious capabilities to the device, and introduce backdoors to maintain control of the network device while minimizing detection through use of a standard functionality. This technique is similar to ROMMONkit and may result in the network device running a modified image.
platforms
Platforms this applies to.
tactics
ATT&CK tactics this technique serves.
sub-technique of
The broader entity this sits under.
mitigations
ATT&CK mitigations that reduce this.
detected by (3)
Data components that detect this.
countered by (D3FEND)
D3FEND countermeasures that counter this.
Detect
NIST CSF 2.0 — areas of relevance (Protect / Detect)
NIST CSF 2.0 areas this most relates to (evidence-ranked).
- PR.PSPlatform Securitymoderate · backed by 11 of 23 mapped controls
- DE.CMContinuous Monitoringmoderate · backed by 8 of 23 mapped controls
- ID.RARisk Assessmentmoderate · backed by 8 of 23 mapped controls
Derived from MITRE CTID (Apache-2.0) and the NIST 800-53 ↔ CSF crosswalk (public domain). Indicative relevance along the Protect/Detect axis — not a compliance assessment or coverage claim.
mitigating controls (23)
Security controls that mitigate this.
known-exploited CVEs (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2017-6742US | high8.8OT critical | KEV | ||
A vulnerability in the SNMP implementation of could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause a reload of the affected system or to remotely execute code. An attacker could… | ||||
source
Where this definition is published.